F#maj9 guitar chord
The standard grips this chord is usually shown with.
- Tap a note to hear it
- Arrows change position
- Fingers, notes or intervals
- Play the chord
About F#maj9 — 1st inversion
F#maj9 is F#, A#, C#, E# and G# — F#maj7 with the ninth stacked above it.
It sounds a maj7 with more air in it. The ninth argues with nothing here, so it works anywhere a maj7 does.
Tonic — an extended resting chord.
F#maj9 notes and formula
| F# | A# | C# | E# | G# |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 9 |
Also written F#M9, F#Δ9, F#ma9 or F# major 9. The same chord either way; which spelling you meet depends on who wrote the chart.
How to play F#maj9
F#maj9 in 1st inversion puts A# in the bass instead of F#, the 3rd of the chord. The notes are the same; what changes is what the bass line does, which is most of why you would reach for it — it lets the lowest voice move by step where the root would have jumped.
One of F#maj9’s 12 common shapes does this:644664
Play F#maj9 as a shell — root, third and seventh — and the spare string takes the #11 (B#) or the 13 (D#).
All 12 common shapes as fret numbers, lowest string first. Hover or tap one to see it drawn.
- 213121, 1st fret, F#, root position, top note E#, barred
- 243324, 2nd fret, F#, root position, top note G#, all fretted
- xx3324, 2nd fret, E#, 3rd inversion, top note G#, all fretted
- xx4364, 3rd fret, F#, root position, top note G#, all fretted
- 644664, 4th fret, A#, 1st inversion, top note G#, barred
- x96666, 6th fret, F#, root position, top note A#, barred
- x-9-8-10-9-x, 8th fret, F#, root position, top note G#, all fretted
- 9-9-8-10-9-x, 8th fret, C#, 2nd inversion, top note G#, barred
- x-11-11-11-11-13, 11th fret, G#, 9th in the bass, top note E#, barred
- x-x-11-13-11-13, 11th fret, C#, 2nd inversion, top note E#, all fretted
- 14-11-11-11-11-13, 11th fret, F#, root position, top note E#, barred
- 14-13-15-13-14-13, 13th fret, F#, root position, top note E#, barred
How to use F#maj9
How you get to it. The turn that lands on F#maj9 is G#m7 to C#7 — the ii and the V of F# — and C#7 shares its third and seventh with G#m7, so the hand barely moves between them.
In which keys. Every note of F#maj9 belongs to C# major (the IV, the subdominant), Eb minor (the ♭III), F# major (the I, the tonic) and Bb minor (the ♭VI).
What to play over F#maj9
Every note of F#maj9 is in F# major and F# lydian.
Chords near F#maj9
Change one note of F#maj9 and you have F#maj7 (drop the ninth), F#maj11 (add the eleventh), F#maj13 (add the thirteenth), F#mMaj9 (the major third becomes the minor third), F#add9 (drop the major seventh) or F#69 (the major seventh becomes the sixth).
F#maj9 is a major chord — root, major third, fifth. Major chords on every root.
The common shapes and the derived voicings come from different places, and both are explained in how this site is built.